


Good times, bad times

by Evil_Keshi



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Established Relationship, Falling In Love, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-10 03:49:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21465361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evil_Keshi/pseuds/Evil_Keshi
Summary: Alec didn't believe in time travel. The Warlock that had just crashed into the Institute pretending he came from the future was lying, period. Time travel was an impossibility... Though Alec was forced to reconsider when the threat Magnus Bane was telling him about started to rise and Shadowhunters became a target.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 31
Kudos: 94





	Good times, bad times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there I go diving into the complexities of a time-travel AU. Buckle up, loves, this might get wild! The title is from Led Zeppelin's song "Good times bad times." Enjoy and if you'd like to live-tweet, feel free to use the #GTBTMalec hashtag ;)

  


Magnus closed his eyes when he started feeling like his head would explode. He was spinning, his neck dangerously close to snap as it tried to follow the abrupt twirling of his body. He couldn't control his own moves, erratic and wild, and he was almost positive that he was going to puke soon. He would never again make fun of people who threw up after stepping into a portal. Never. He understood them better now, in this instant far from his most glorious, although he had never fathomed that this kind of situation could happen to him. Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn, sick after portal-travelling? That was unheard of.

To be fair, this was no mere portal and to top it all, not one that he had ever used before. Usually, he stepped into a bright ring of magic and popped on the other side looking fresh and relaxed, ready for whatever destination he had chosen - dressed in a sharp tux for this fancy restaurant, wearing his swimming trunks for that secret little creek in Crete that no one else knew... Well, not this time.

Magnus opened his eyes again and fought the urge to shut them immediately once more. He had not known what to expect before he stepped inside but certainly not endless spinning and explosions of colours he could discern for fleeting moments only, as if he'd been stuck into a crazy kaleidoscope. Magnus forced himself to keep his eyes open. He'd quite like to catch any hint that he was getting closer to his destination but if he was to lose himself in Limbo, at least he wanted to see what it looked like. What if he _did_ end up there? How much time had passed since he'd stepped into this infernal tube? When was he going to arrive? In how many pieces?

Questions he did not know the answers to. He wasn't scared though, not of Limbo, not of death itself: hadn't he volunteered for this mission? That, and he'd snapped or downright yelled at everyone who'd suggested that perhaps they could accomplish this task themselves. He hadn't wanted anyone but him to risk their life.

Suddenly and without any choice in the matter, Magnus slowed down. He was still spinning but the portal seemed to grow lazy, as if it had finally decided that it took far too much energy to toss a Warlock around like this. At this new, slower pace that enabled him to breathe just a bit more easily, Magnus nearly saw the numerous bursts of colours for what they were, blurry shapes of places and items he was passing by but never stopping close to, as they were not meant for him.

A sharp halt made him wince and his neck cracked. Over the next few seconds, Magnus floated inside the portal, as if the damn thing wasn't sure what to do with him anymore. This was the moment of truth... Had he reached his destination or was he going to be stuck in Limbo? Worst-case scenario, he died. There was another possibility that he didn't really wish to contemplate but... Maybe he would emerge on the other side of the portal and see that it hadn't worked, that he was still in the place and time he'd departed from and that... that he had _failed_. If he failed though, so would A...

Magnus yelped when the portal spat him out in an angry second and he hit a cold stone floor. He rolled over with a groan of pain that only grew louder when his ears rang and he tried not to move anymore, lying down until the pulsing in his head subdued. It somewhat helped that the solid surface beneath his palms was cool to the touch and it soothed his throbbing headache a little.

He frowned when he heard a strangled sound coming from behind and Magnus gingerly gathered himself on his knees, praying that this was no enemy sneaking up on him. He didn't think he had the energy to fight, not after this hell of a journey. Checking that he would not fall flat on his face if he tried to stand up already, Magnus slowly rose to his feet and glanced around. A quick second sufficed to make him lose his breath. He knew this place.

Doors that opened onto a balcony, a large wooden desk in front of stained-glass windows that depicted an angel... and behind that desk, a Shadowhunter who looked shocked at the intrusion. These hazel eyes that Magnus loved were lit up with confusion and an adorable frown of utmost incomprehension parted these lips that he had kissed a thousand times.

For a second or two, his lungs became useless. He let out a gasp and his eyes eagerly roamed all over that beautiful face he cherished but then, the spell was broken and his heart shattered. Devastating pain overwhelmed him and Magnus clutched at his chest, certain that he would turn into ashes if he didn't physically hold himself together.

"A... Alexander," he said like a hello and a goodbye at the same time, like a prayer, like delight and heartbreak, a sob and a laugh both audible in his brittle voice.

Alec reacted in the blink of an eye but instead of embracing Magnus, holding him close with one hand on his lower back and his other arm around his Warlock's neck, he grabbed his bow, nocked an arrow and aimed it straight at Magnus' crumpling heart.

"Who are you?" the man he loved said, his voice icy and stern, though some of his natural curiosity slipped through when he added, "How do you know me?"

The portal had worked, Magnus realised with wide, wet eyes, although it had led him astray quite a bit. Alexander should have known him.

The question was not to know where he was... He'd made it into the Head of the New York Institute's office as planned. The question was, with this hostile Alexander who should have kissed him and worried about him as soon as he hit the floor...

_When_ was he?

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading so far! I will update this story whenever I can but priority goes to "Hold my hand". Feel free to share your thoughts about this prologue, I'd be delighted to know what you think ;)


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